Snowshoes

Featured review by LoneStranger

New for Fall 2022, this is an early look at MSR's Lightning Trail snowshoes updated with new Paraglide bindings. A rugged, but lightweight shoe meant for rolling terrain. Great for folks who won't be climbing mountains and now easier to get on and off your feet.

  New shoes, old snow MSR has been making great snowshoes for a long time, but that doesn't stop them from trying to make them better. In recent years they have changed the bindings on their Lightning Ascent and Revo Ascent models to use what they have named the new Paragon binding. Employing a flexible mesh panel that wraps about the front of the foot they reduced the number of strap connections to two. Now they have taken that same approach to create the Paraglide bindings which will be coming to the Lightning Trail, Revo Trail, and Evo Trail shoes for Fall of '22.

Read more: MSR Lightning Trail reviews (2)

Featured review by Sheila Bergin Goss

I will review my shoes, the 24 inch model, but my husband has the 28 inch version, and his review is the same as mine...we love these snowshoes! We have found them a nice step-up from our older Tubbs models (Adventure 25 and Eclipse 30), and have been excellent in our uses this year, on varying terrain and snow conditions.

We snowshoe on sometimes steep and icy trails, and sometimes trails with unpacked or mushy snow. I have found the design and materials on these snowshoes to be excellent, and they have greatly increased my  confidence on tricky terrain,especially when traversing. The extended traction is wonderful,and an improvement from my old Tubbs, which had only toe crampons. The Flex Alps are light, and the binding system holds them securely...I have found no lateral "wiggle". The heel lift is also a feature new to us, and it seems like a nice advantage for some of our steep uphills.

Read more: Tubbs Flex ALP reviews (3)

Featured review by Hume Vance

I bought these this morning because after weeks of snow here in Boston they were the only snowshoes available at the local EMS store. I just went out for an hour and a half tromp in the woods. They passed the first test easily, which was whether I could secure my boots in the bindings. The adjustments both around the toes and on the strap that runs behind the heel were simple and straight-forward. The heel strap is made of some sort of rubberized material. You adjust it by stretching the strap over a metal prong.

Read more: Tubbs Flex TRK reviews (3)

Featured review by Jboothmtnbkr

Impressive hiking/backcountry snowshoe from long-time maker of snowshoes, Tubbs. Great weight-to-size/flotation with easy on and off buckling mechanism. Heel lift for extended climbing and fairly aggressive traction make for an enjoyable day hiking the snow covered trails here in Colorado.

I purchased these snowshoes in mid-January after it had been snowing quite a bit during December. But then it turned warm, unseasonably warm here in the Denver area with 50s-70s for the rest of January and early February. The place I had planned to christen them turned into a snow/mud trail so I kept waiting for the weather to turn back to winter.   Last weekend, a buddy of mine who is a volunteer with the U.S. Forest Service, and I met up to snowshoe the 5.5 mile out and back to Brainard Lake (northwest of Boulder).

Read more: Tubbs Wilderness Series reviews (7)

Featured review by Utah Backpacker

About the only thing that would hurt these snowshoes is throwing them in a fire! They're made of bomb-proof, injection molded, high impact plastic and can take more abuse than anything I've seen. Best for on-trail hiking but be forewarned — plastic is LOUD, especially on a packed trail.

I like getting the cons out of the way first so I can go on and list all the really good stuff.  So, here you go... Con: These snowshoes are heavy. They're made of high impact, injection molded plastic, so once you put the shoe, the deck and the bindings all together, you're looking at over 3.5 pounds. Definitely not the lightest shoes out there... Con: Being made of plastic, they're also very loud on packed and icy trails — so loud in fact, it's difficult to hear your hiking partner over them.

Read more: MSR Evo Trail reviews (3)

Featured review by Mike Mineart

The MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoe is a very well designed go-anywhere snowshoe with a new Paragon binding design that lives up to its name. The Lightning Ascent's design has a number of aggressive features that really enable this snowshoe to be used confidently in the most challenging crusty and icy conditions. The new Paragon binding is simple to use and comfortable in use. This really is a great snowshoe option for someone looking for a durable design that can be used in any conditions.

Overview The MSR Lightning Ascents are positioned as MSR’s top of the line snowshoe with a focus on being an ultralight aggressive design that can be used in challenging technical terrain. The latest version of the Lightning Ascent now comes with MSR’s new Paragon binding which MSR claims to offer greater comfort and foot control.  The MSR Lightning Ascent is actually one of three models of the MSR Lightning snowshoe designs and I provide a brief comparison of the three models at the end of this review.

Read more: MSR Lightning Ascent reviews (25)

Featured review by Jack Melito

Northern Lites still offers the Backcountry for $240. I've had mine for years, and agree they are one of the lightest and easiest to use in the backcountry. The only model that's better for bantam weight folks is their Elite (8x25) if and only if you are under 175 lbs with a backpack!

For more aggressive slopes, I'd love a pair of their Predator series, which replaces their aluminum cleats with steel in more places. But the overall Northern Lites build is the same...much lighter frame than other brands, plastic edge clamps that both provide some extra traction and keep the decking material from wearing through where it wraps around the frame. The strap system is sturdy though takes practice if you don't want to take gloves off, but once you're in they track well and are easy to walk in.

Read more: Northern Lites Backcountry reviews (2)

Reviewed by Phil Smith

The Atlas Range MTN is a traction-framed snowshoe that comes in 25", 30", and 35" sizes for men’s snowshoes, and 22" and 26" for women’s. A toothed aluminum perimeter frame and steel toe crampons provide grip in varying snow consistencies. BOA bindings with locking heel straps secure the snowshoes to your feet. Decking is Nytex, a high-temp, high-rigidity, and low moisture-absorptive type of nylon.

Probably 95% of my snowshoeing is done off-trail in the mountains of western Maine, so the traction of mountaineering snowshoes is very nice to have. The problem is that the largest size anyone makes is 8x30, which isn’t large enough for 260lb me and my pack in softer snow. MSR makes tails that add 5 inches to their Lightning series, but I didn’t like those because the rear of the snowshoes rode higher than the front. So I typically used my 10x36 tube-framed backcountry snowshoes for their much better flotation even though their traction wasn’t as good.  Enter the Atlas Range MTN 35.

Read more: Atlas Range-MTN review (1)

Reviewed by Eric Billard

The Atlas Access Series snowshoes are great for all-day use, as well as for light hiking on and off trail in rolling terrain. They are very versatile and easy to use, with a moderate amount of traction, while still being light and very comfortable to wear for extended periods. Would highly recommend for use in the backcountry of Eastern Canada and United States, as well as for day-to-day use.

The Access Series, part of Atlas's Day Hiking line, are an excellent choice for those looking to get out and explore, whether it be a quick walk in the woods or for hiking in moderate terrain. They are very comfortable and easy to use, while still being able to stand up to hard use. They handle hills really well due to traction from the "twin-trac" toe crampons, which provide a solid grip in combination with the "advanced aft-traction" heel cleat along with the sturdy built in heel lift which provides a "step" of sorts when traversing up steep inclines, in turn reducing fatigue on your heel.

Read more: Atlas Access review (1)

Featured review by Shane Kelly

This is my first pair of snowshoes and I'll have to say I'm impressed with the quality and ease of adjustment these snowshoes have.

I bought these snowshoes three years ago and have had a blast with them, both in the woods and open fields. So easy to just step in, tighten, and away I go. The built-in crampons mean ice (which I've used these on) is no problem whatsoever. I'd recommend these to anyone. There may be better out there, but for entry level and price these are tough to beat.

Read more: L.L.Bean Winter Walker reviews (3)